Robb Wirthin is a graduate of the Air Force Academy with 21 years of service in the military.  He's also had a successful civilian career working for Ford as a senior technical leader in systems engineering.  But Robb's childhood dream was to become an astronaut.  His 3rd grade teacher inspired this goal when she assigned him as a class reporter on the space station Skylab.  Robb hoped the Air Force Academy would provide a foundation for NASA and he attended and graduated with honors.  But careers aren't always straightforward and Robb used the lessons he learned at the Academy to help him when his childhood dream came to an end.  In this episode, we discuss how to apply for and survive a military academy, the reasons behind the rigorous training, the roll that mistakes and failure play in our development and how to prepare for a military career.  And I couldn't resist getting his take on Top Gun Maverick!

LINKS:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skylab

https://www.usafa.edu/